FIG. 14 shows a typical example of a connector in which connector housings can be fitted and connected with each other by a low insertion force.
A connector 100 shown in FIG. 14 is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.
The connector 100 is a so-called lever type connector and includes a female connector housing 110 provided at a front end side thereof with a hood portion 111 into which a corresponding connector housing is fitted, a male connector housing 120 male/female-fitted into the hood portion 111, and a lever 130 pivotally mounted on the male connector housing 120.
The lever 130 is pivotally connected to the male connector housing 120 by engaging a middle section in a longitudinal direction (a direction of an arrow X1 in FIG. 14) thereof with a pivoting shaft 121 provided to be protruded from the male connector housing 120. An arrow R1 shown in FIG. 14 indicates a rotation direction of the lever 130 about the pivot shaft 121 as a rotation pivot.
The male connector housing 120 is positioned at a fitting start position with the female connector housing 110 in an inclined state in which an end 131 of the lever 130 is descended toward the female connector housing 110 as shown.
The end 131 of the lever 130 is provided with a protrusion adapted to be engaged with a recess, not shown, provided on the female connector housing 110 when the other end 132 of the lever 130 is pressed down to be rotated about the pivot shaft 121. Also, the other end 132 of the lever 130 is provided with a housing pushing portion for pressing down the male connector housing 120 in a pressing-down direction when the other end is pressed down.
In the connector 100 as described above, when the other end 132 of the lever 130 is pressed down toward the female connector housing 110 after the female connector housing 110 and the male connector housing 120 are positioned at fitting start positions, the lever 130, of which the end 131 has been engaged with the female connector housing 110, serves as a lever member to exert a large pushing force to the male connector housing 120, and as a result, the connector housings can be fitted and connected with each other by a low insertion force.